Powdered Sugar As a Varroa Control Method

Posted on January 19, 2013 | Comments Off on Powdered Sugar As a Varroa Control Method

A number of years ago, a method of non-lethal testing for varroa mites on honey bees was developed at the University of Nebraska by entomology professor Dr. Marion Ellis and some of his students. It involved the use of powder sugar in a dust application. They found that when honey bees infested with varroa mites are dusted with a coating of powdered sugar, many of the mites fall off – perhaps as a result of increased grooming by the bees, or maybe because the sugar makes it more difficult for the mites to maintain their grip. Various substances could be used instead, but powdered sugar works well, is cheap and readily available, and is easy for the bees to clean off.

The powdered sugar roll, as it is called, has become a common technique for estimating varroa numbers from a sample of bees. Continue reading →

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Posted in Beekeeping diseases, parasites and pests, Hive management

Another Idea for Winter Feeding

Posted on January 13, 2013 | Comments Off on Another Idea for Winter Feeding

In response to several questions, I wrote a post on December 11th about the making and use of bee candy for emergency winter feeding. I wrote about the same topic last year. Last week, when I spoke at the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association’s January meeting in St. Louis, it came up again as a question after my presentation. Obviously, it is a subject of perennial interest.

Yesterday, a friend from St. Louis emailed me concerning the conversation at the meeting there, and included a recipe for making and feeding Sugar Mush, a low moisture sugar/water mixture for use in winter. Another beekeeping friend mentioned a similar method in a phone conversation not long ago. As I said in the December post, the major drawback to winter feeding with sugar syrup is the moisture that it introduces into the hive. Offering bee candy, a solid form of sugar, minimizes this problem, but it takes some practice to master the technique of making it. Some beekeepers may find sugar mush a good compromise. It contains less moisture than syrup, but is easier to make than candy. It is almost like using pure granulated sugar, but the small amount of added water makes it easier for the bees to ingest.

The recipe for the sugar slush provided in the above link recommends feeding in a plastic bag using a rim extension. I see no reason why it could not be offered to a hive using a top feeder or even a division board feeder (which replaces a frame in the brood box). It should not be placed directly on the frames, unless in a bag, due to its slushiness. If you decide to try this method, let me know how it works out.

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Posted in Hive management

Do You Plan To Order Queens for Spring Delivery?

Posted on December 29, 2012 | Comments Off on Do You Plan To Order Queens for Spring Delivery?

With the Christmas decorations still up and snow on the ground in much of the country, spring seems a long way off. Never-the-less, if you are planning to order queens for spring delivery, now is the time to start thinking about placing your order. All queen producers will be taking orders in January, and some have their 2013 prices up and have already begun to do so. Many beekeepers purchasing queens for making nucs or re-queening hives will want an early delivery date, but the number of queens that suppliers will have available for shipping on a given date is finite. Once that number is reached, they will take no additional orders for that date, so to ensure receiving queens when you want them, you should to place your order in January.  If you intend to order queens from a local queen producer, even for later delivery (local queen producers further north will not have queens to sell until later in the spring), those orders should be placed soon as well. Make it one of your New Year’s resolutions.

Finding sources of queens: If you are a newer beekeeper contemplating ordering queens for the first time, consult with beekeeping friends or members of your local beekeeping associations for recommendations on queen suppliers. If you are interested in a particular variety of queen, such as a Russian or  Carniolan, breeder associations or queen breeder webpages are good resources.

Shipping of queens: Keep in mind distance and travel times. This will become an even greater issue as temperatures climb in late spring. If you are receiving queens from a long distance, consider paying for overnight shipping. Cooperating with beekeeper friends or members of your local association to combine orders for queens can reduce the cost. On orders of 15 or more queens, overnight shipping becomes more economical (the cost per queen drops), and sellers reduce prices on large orders. An additional advantage is that most suppliers will ship large orders in batteries – a method which is much healthier and less stressful for the queens. See earlier post for more information on queen batteries.

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Posted in Buying bees and beekeeping equipment

For Your Beekeeping Bookshelf: The Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark L. Winston

Posted on December 23, 2012 | Comments Off on For Your Beekeeping Bookshelf: The Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark L. Winston

If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea for a beekeeper in your life, or for a way to spend some of your Christmas cash, consider  The Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark L. Winston. It is a good basic text for any beekeeper, regardless of experience level. Not a beekeeping manual, it is, however, an in depth study of honey bee biology, an understanding of which is crucial to becoming a successful beekeeper.  It would also be a great choice for anyone with a general interest in insects or nature, who wishes to learn more about honey bees. This volume should be on every beekeeper’s reference shelf.

When I teaching beginner beekeeping courses, I don’t discuss beekeeping in the initial class; I always open with an overview of honey bee biology. At the end of presentations, I frequently cite Dr. Winston’s book and suggest that beekeepers acquire a copy. Winter, with its long nights, cold days, and no work to do in the beeyard, is a good time to learn or to brush up on the basics. So, if The Biology of the Honey Bee is not on your book shelf, think about adding it soon.

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Posted in The beekeepers book shelf

Starling Murmuration – WOW (See Videos and You’ll Say It Too)

Posted on December 19, 2012 | Comments Off on Starling Murmuration – WOW (See Videos and You’ll Say It Too)

This is a completely non-beekeeping post. Like many beekeepers, my interest in honey bees is rooted in a greater, general interest in nature, so I hope you enjoy this natural history post.

My friend Mary Parnell Carney (who takes most of the photos, and all of the good ones, on this webpage), posted a brief video on her Facebook page, (link further in this post), which she made of a starling murmuration –you have to be registered at facebook to view it. I recognized the phenomenon when I viewed her post and video, but had been unfamiliar with the word. First, a word about starlings: the starlings we see here in the United States are European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, an introduced species – obviously from Europe. They have never been my favorite birds; they are aggressive, come to our feeders with lots of their friends, and crowd out the other birds. I now have a new appreciation of them, however due to Mary’s post and some subsequent research. Continue reading →

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Posted in Natural history

For the Beekeeper’s Book Shelf: The Joy of Beekeeping by Richard Taylor

Posted on December 14, 2012 | Comments Off on For the Beekeeper’s Book Shelf: The Joy of Beekeeping by Richard Taylor

If you’re looking for some winter reading on beekeeping, I recommend Richard Taylor’s The Joys of Beekeeping. This is much more than a “how to” manual, though it does contain pertinent information for the new or novice beekeeper. Compiled from a series of essays, many of which appeared in Mr. Taylor’s Bee Talk column in what was then known as Gleanings in Bee Culture (since shortened to Bee Culture), this is not reading for new beekeepers only. The first essay in this little book – only 166 pages – is titled The Taste of Joy, and the sense of joy permeates to the end. Not a recent book, it was originally published in 1974. I have a 1984 edition, which is the one you will probably find if you seek it out. I discovered this volume many years ago and still pick it back up occasionally, as I did just this morning, to enjoy it again. The section on bee yards, which describes the smells of wax and honey and the sounds of buzzing bees, makes an impression on me every time I read it. This is what I enjoy most about beekeeping: my time in the apiary, those smells and sounds, and the daily discoveries in the hives. Richard Taylor shares with us his pleasure in these simple things. Enjoy!

About Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor may be known to readers as a beekeeper and writer, but his original career, never abandoned, was professor of philosophy. He earned his PhD in that field from Brown University, and during his long academic career he taught at Brown, Columbia and Rochester Universities. He passed away in 2003, but his words live on.

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Posted in Beginning Beekeeping, The beekeepers book shelf, Uncategorized

Bee Candy or Fondant As Winter Feed for Honey Bees

Posted on December 11, 2012 | Comments Off on Bee Candy or Fondant As Winter Feed for Honey Bees

I’m receiving questions about making fondant or bee candy, which is a preferable alternative to feeding liquid syrup during the winter. You’ll find a couple of recipes in a post I wrote last winter. More are available on the web, along with suggests on methods for feeding fondant. Just enter “beekeeping”, and “bee candy” or “fondant”, into a search engine like Google or Yahoo.

Above: candy board, with candy, sitting underneath an empty candy board. After the candy is poured into the board and hardens, it is covered with thin pieces of plywood. (Note the slits to allow the bees access to the candy.) The board containing the candy is turned over when it is placed on hive, directly over the top brood box. The outside dimensions of the candy board are the same as those of a hive body, allowing a telescoping or one piece cover to be placed on top for protection from the weather.

Candy board on top of upper brood box. The outer cover will be placed over the candy board.

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Posted in Hive management, Uncategorized

2013 Kentucky Regional Beekeeping School Schedule Announced

Posted on November 15, 2012 | Comments Off on 2013 Kentucky Regional Beekeeping School Schedule Announced

Planning is underway across Kentucky for six regional beekeeping schools to be held between January 19th and March 10th, 2013. Every year over a thousand beekeepers across the commonwealth are introduced to beekeeping or improve their skills and knowledge through classes at these schools. Sessions for all levels of skill will be offered, including beginning beekeeping instruction for those with no past experience. In addition, beekeeping supply companies will be present at vendor shows at all of the schools. This is an opportunity to inspect and compare beekeeping equipment, ask questions, and make purchases or place orders. These schools are the result of  the cooperative efforts of local Kentucky beekeeping associations, beekeepers, and the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University Extension programs.

As it becomes available, additional information and updates for each school will be found at the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association webpage.

  • January 19: Eastern Kentucky Beekeeping School, Hazard
  • February 2: Allen County Beekeeping School, Scottsville
  • February 9: Southeast Beekeeping School, Williamsburg
  • February 23: Northeast KY Beekeeping School, Morehead
  • March 2: Audubon Bee School, Henderson
  • March 9: Bluegrass Beekeeping School, Frankfort

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Posted in Schools, classes, beekeeping groups, education

Bees in Space: Will Bees Pollinate an Extraterrestrial Crop?

Posted on November 7, 2012 | Comments Off on Bees in Space: Will Bees Pollinate an Extraterrestrial Crop?

Honey bees are the ideal pollinator of most cultivated crops, but are not the bees to use in greenhouses. In a greenhouse, honey bees react much as they do when accidentally carried inside by beekeepers; they fly to the light (glass windows) and spent their time trying to escape. Bumblebees however, are more content to stay indoors and hence are the greenhouse pollinator of choice. Will they someday be the bee used for pollination in outer space? Below is another interesting story from our friends north of the border.

Bees in Space:  Will Bees Pollinate an Extraterrestrial Crop?

Summary:  Study finds that bumblebees can forage at atmospheric pressures as low as 50kPa, which means that they may someday be used during long term space missions to grow plants.

(November 6, 2012) – Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Scientists have spent years studying how to grow plants in controlled environments, anticipating the day when humans grow their own food on long term space missions. Now, a new study published in Gravitational and Space Biology has found that insect pollinators may very well play a role in future “self-sustaining” space missions. Continue reading →

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Posted in Honey bee or beekeeping research

New Pollination Webpage

Posted on November 2, 2012 | Comments Off on New Pollination Webpage

Beekeepers, growers, and non-beekeepers alike may all find this new Canadian pollination website interesting and helpful – http://www.pollinator.ca/canpolin/about.html#. Though produced in Canada, the information is relevant to all of North America and beyond. For the beekeeper, there are detailed guides for pollination of different crops, information on pollination contracts, pesticides, and more. Growers will be aided by much of the same information as well as by suggestions on numbers of hives needed to provide adequate pollination. The general public and students may learn from the sections on the basic biology of pollination of flowering plants, pollination by honey bees, non-honey bee pollination, and non-insect pollination. The guide is also an excellent reference for middle and high school students’ research papers.

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Posted in Uncategorized